REDUNDANCY UPDATE - 21/12/01

MSF held another meeting with HR yesterday, discussing the redundancy situation. We are continuing to make progress in establishing ICL's position. We still need to make further progress in this before we can start discussions about possible alternatives to compulsory redundancies in January.

We've published and updated a lot of information on our web site in the last week. We've now also got a CafeVIK community "MAN05 Union", which we'll start populating in the New Year. This will help us to ensure that those without Internet access can still get the information they need.

CAN YOU HELP MSF? - 21/12/01

MSF plans to hold a series of meetings in different areas of the site, for members and non-members to discuss the redundancy situation with reps. This will:

• Help reps to judge the mood, and identify key issues
• Help staff inform themselves
• Encourage non-members to join the union
• Provide a forum for staff to discuss possible alternatives to compulsory redundancies

If you'd be willing to help organise such a "section meeting" in your area, please , who is co-ordinating these events.

HOW TO KEEP UP WITH THE NEWS - 21/12/01

Events are moving pretty fast at the moment. We recommend that members make use of the "news" facility on CafeVIK to ensure that they receive relevant headlines for key employee issues. The UKCF have produced instructions on how to set up new to receive these headlines on your CafeVIK home page.

We recommend that members select (at least) the following communities:

• Rationalisation Programme
• MAN05 Union
• UK Consultative Forum
• European Consultative Forum

ICL announces 1500 job losses - 18/12/01

MSF responded quickly to ICL's announcement of 1500 job losses in the UK.

After being briefed on Monday afternoon, MSF reps at MAN05 met on Tuesday to start planning a response. Having MSF members on ICL's UK Consultative Forum proved extremely valuable in ensuring that information available through the UKCF was put to prompt and effective use.

Throughout Wednesday, reps dealt with innumerable queries from members and non-members. On Wednesday afternoon, Roger Lyons, the General Secretary (national leader) of MSF, was interviewed outside MAN05, ensuring that the employee perspective reached TV, radio and press coverage.

In the News:

• BBC: ICL slashes 1,500 jobs
• Computer Weekly: CEO's promise broken as ICL makes further job cuts
• Computer Weekly: ICL customers ponder impact of redundancies

We have produced our first leaflet since the announcement, which has already been distributed round most of the site. If you can help with future leaflet distribution etc, please get in touch. We're already seeing a noticeable rise in recruitment. Significantly, many of the new members are amongst younger non-helpdesk staff, a vital section of the site population for the future. Why not talk to your workmates about joining the union?

Many non-members have been asking whether it's now "too late" to join. There are certain benefits of membership (primarily legal representation) for which there is a 6-month qualifying period of membership. However, it is still well worthwhile people joining now, for both individual and collective benefits. The MAN05 reps committee have adopted the following statement to clarify the situation:

MSF reps at MAN05 are handling a huge workload because of the current redundancies. The effectiveness of the MSF's response depends on the size and involvement of union membership, and we welcome those who wish to join us now. However, reps have a responsibility to manage their workload, and ensure that our time isn't taken up with large numbers of individual cases brought by staff who have only joined the union after being selected for redundancy. We must therefore warn employees that it is unlikely that MAN05 reps will be able to provide individual assistance over the current redundancies for those who join after the end of January.

See below for the specialist roles the Reps are adopting for the redundancy process.

MSF reps have been collating lists of questions about the redundancy programme, which we will be publishing on our web site (www.ourunion.org.uk) in the next few days, and circulating to members.

On Friday 14th we met again with HR, and received a copy of the "HR1" form which officially starts the 90-day consultation period. We discussed the role of MSF in the process, identified information we'd need for the consultation process, and began to go through the lists of questions to agree suitable answers.

Amongst other things, it was agreed that the MAN05 MSF group would have a CafeVIK community, so we'll be able to make information accessible to staff without Internet access, and reduce the load on ICL's Internet gateways.

MSF's main goal in this is to prevent compulsory redundancies. Our priorities are as follows:

1. Save as many jobs as we can
2. Ensure the process is as fair as possible
3. Help individuals who want to stay in the company, and are at risk of redundancy
4. Ensure the best possible support and financial package for those leaving the company

We're expecting formal responses to our requests for information, and our list of questions. Based on the responses, we hope to be able to start discussing with members possible alternatives to avoid compulsory redundancies.

Update on Reps Committee - 18/12/01

Annie Leach, who is the chair of the reps committee, leaves ICL this week, and will be sorely missed. The reps committee has decided to co-opt Dave Francis to fill the vacancy, effective from Friday 21 December, when Annie leaves. Dave will be dealing with pensions issues.

The reps have also been examining the roles within the committee to spread the workload through the redundancy period. It will help us significantly if members can contact the appropriate rep. These are the specialist roles we're adopting for the redundancy process:

Ian Allinson:

issues around the overall redundancy process, and avoiding redundancies

John Wood:

individual cases, issues around the "package" people get

Phil Tepper:

collating Qs & As, tracking outstanding issues

Frazer Cooke:

organising, campaigning & recruitment

[hidden]:

maintaining the web sites

Lynne Hodge:

tracking applications for VR, and those selected for CR

All the reps will be heavily involved in this issue, in various ways.

We have also elected Lynne Hodge as the new chair of the reps committee after Annie leaves.

ICL Organising Workshop Weekend - 18/12/01

We are planning a weekend of organising workshops for active MSF members throughout ICL. Details and an application form are here. Please take a look, and return the form as soon as possible if you would like to attend.

MSF subs in 2002 - 18/12/01

We're pleased to report that your MSF subs are being frozen at their 2001 levels for 2002. Even better value!

Branch meeting - 18/12/01

The next meeting of MSF's Greater Manchester IT Branch will be:

6pm, Thursday 10 January

Upstairs room, Hare & Hounds pub, Shudehill, Manchester City Centre

All members of the branch are entitled to attend. Please note that the times of meeting have been put back half an hour to make it easier for people to get there.

As well as the usual business of the branch, which includes reports and discussions on workplace issues, the agenda will include discussion of what views our branch should submit to the "rules commission". The rules commission is a body of MSF and AEEU members who are drafting new rules for the UNITE, the new union which we'll all be in from the new year.

PENSIONS - 23/11/01

There are a number of important issues around pensions at the moment, including:

• Pension compensation for part-timers who used to be barred from the main pension fund
• Updating the pension fund to end discrimination against un-married partners
• Ensuring that rights to pension benefits are protected in the forthcoming reorganisation

At the moment, Annie Leach, chair of our reps committee, sits as an elected member of ICL's Pension Fund Consultative Committee. It seems likely that Annie will be made redundant by the end of December, and we are keen to hear from members who might consider taking up the pensions issue.

Because ICL opted out of parts of the legislation following the Maxwell affair, they do not believe they are obliged to hold an election to fill Annie's seat, just as they did not when Suresh Patel left the company. However, there seems a strong likelihood that an election will take place at some point in coming months.

It's particularly important for us to have an MSF member from MAN05 on the Pensions Consultative Committee. This is not only because they have access to support and advice from the union, and that they can keep us all informed using the union's communication channels. It is also because it is only by using MSF's union recognition agreement at MAN05 that we have been able to secure proper training for our pensions reps.

If you'd even consider this important and interesting role, please get in touch. We'd like to have a candidate in place well before any election is called.

MOBILE PHONE USE WHEN DRIVING - 23/11/01

A Labour MP is seeking legislation to ban the use of mobile phones when driving, with support from the TUC. Janet Anderson, Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen, received approval from MPs to proceed with a private member's bill. She told the House of Commons:

"a similar law was enacted in the state of New York as recently as 1 November this year. In New South Wales too, there is now a law that states quite explicitly that the driver of a vehicle must not use a hand-held mobile phone while the vehicle is moving. Korea has now followed suit and I understand that the government of the Irish Republic are considering doing the same."

The MP said RoSPA estimated there have now been at least 16 deaths on British roads in which a mobile phone has been implicated. She added that research in the United States suggested using a mobile telephone while driving is as dangerous as drink driving.

There appear to have been trends in ICL for both more business driving, and more use of mobile phones. If you think you really need to do both at the same time, please make sure you are provided with a suitable hands-free kit. Your MSF Health & Safety Rep can help you with this if you have trouble obtaining one.

SHIFTS AND CHILDCARE - 23/11/01

The Labour Research Department's Fact Service carried the following report, from the BBC and the Scotsman:

Working mothers look set to be given the legal right to refuse inconvenient shifts following a landmark tribunal ruling. Former police constable Michelle Chew has won an appeal against Avon and Somerset Police after they refused her request to work the same days each week.

Miss Chew, 36, a single parent from Taunton, had wanted to work the same days each week to enable her two children to go to nursery. The tribunal ruled that the force had breached the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act because women were more likely to be looking after children. The decision looks likely to enable other mothers to come forward with similar claims, unless a higher court overturns it.

These "new rights" could be available to thousands of women in the public and private sectors but firms with small staffs could apply for exemptions.

Fathers could also benefit because firms could face compensation claims unless they give them the same rights. Fathers received a boost when a tribunal backed a Scottish car mechanic's claim that he had been a victim of sex discrimination when his employer refused to allow him to work only a couple of days a week.

Neil Walkingshaw and his wife Tracy had decided he should give up full-time work to look after their son Sean, but when he approached his employers, the John Martin Group, they claimed the arrangement would be "messy" and refused his request. Mr Walkingshaw, 35, subsequently left his job. The tribunal concluded his employers "gave no meaningful consideration" to his request and would probably have agreed to a similar request from a woman.

The case, the first of its kind, was supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission. Julie Mellor, the EOC chairwoman, said the decisions were a boost for both mothers and fathers. Ms Mellor said:

"For the first time employers will have an explicit duty to properly consider fathers' as well as mothers' requests to work part-time. Although good employers already enable staff to change their hours, we know from the volume of inquiries we receive on this issue that many other reject this sort of request out of hand."

http://news.bbc.co.uk 19.11.01, The Scotsman 21.11.01

fujitsu/DMR/FUJITSU RESTRUCTURING - 12/11/01

This restructuring programme is the biggest issue facing ICL employees. It will present many issues, problems and opportunities.

ICL's European Consultative Forum reps were briefed about this [but minutes have not yet been agreed and issued], but were not satisfied that proper arrangements for consultation were in place. Your ECF reps contacted Richard Christou to request a further meeting, so that the consultation process could begin - a further meeting is now planned for 19th November.

Many of the issues of immediate concern to employees (contracts, pensions etc) will be specific to individual countries. The UK Consultative Forum should play a key role in addressing these issues. The UKCF is due to meet this week.

MSF reps are concerned that the process hasn't got off to a good start. Hard on the heels of the catering fiasco, ICL issued announcement 01-73. This has implications for all employees, yet employee representatives were not even informed, much less consulted.

Your reps are working hard to put the process back on track. Employees DO have legal rights in this situation, though these are less extensive than those in other European countries.

WAR - 12/11/01

The Stop the War Coalition has called a national demonstration for Sunday 18th November, and it looks like this will be huge.

There are coaches going from all over Greater Manchester (and elsewhere). Nationally, you can get details of transport from the coalition on 07951 235 915. In Manchester, either contact Greater Manchester & District CND on 0161 273 8283, or get tickets from Ian Allinson.

Because the demonstration is taking place during Ramadan, mosques in London are organising to provide vast quantities of fruit etc for all the protesters.

The MAN05 reps committee has decided to contribute towards the cost of members who wish to attend. If you can't go, why not contribute towards the cost of someone else's ticket?

TRANSFERS, MERGERS, TAKEOVERS & PENSIONS - 12/11/01

Many members have been affected by what are technically known as "TUPE transfers" in the past, and merger-mania seems to be speeding up as recession looms.

Examples include outsourcing of services from ICL, "divestment" of departments to other companies, and outsourcing from the public sector or other companies into ICL. It seems inevitable that at least some of the Fujitsu restructuring will involve TUPE transfers.

Employee rights are protected in these circumstances by the European Acquired Rights Directive, and in UK law by the Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) regulations. A major weakness in the protection has been the exclusion of pensions.

The European Union's Acquired Rights Directive was amended in 1998 to include occupational pension rights. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is consulting over changes to the UK's TUPE legislation to deal with this in a variety of ways. We encourage members (especially those who've been involved in TUPE transfers) to submit comments by 15 December.

For details, contact your Rep or see: http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/tupe/consult.htm

ORGANISING - 12/11/01

In recent weeks your reps committee co-opted Saiqa Karim to fill a vacancy, so we're now back up to full strength. A list of reps is attached at the bottom of this notice.

We've had some success in appointing new Health & Safety reps, and the current list is as follows:

Chris Morton, John Wood, George Worley (AEEU), [hidden], Chris Gardner, Mike Bamford, Phil Tepper, Annie Leach, Hilary Robinson, Ian Allinson, Michael Farrell, Paul Marsland, Tony Smith (AEEU), Norman Renwick, Zahid Ramzan, Lucy McGrother and Saiqa Zulfquar

This may seem like a long list, but this is a big site, and we could still use more volunteers. Health & Safety reps are key to policing companies over safety, and improving the working environment for us all. As a Health & Safety rep you get work time to carry out your duties, and full training.

The group is circulating a paper newsletter round the site over the next few days. This includes a membership form - why not ask a colleague to join? MSF's ability to further the interests of the workforce depends on the size and involvement of its membership. With the range and importance of the issues we face, there have never been more reasons to join.

STOPPING THE BNP IN OLDHAM - 12/11/01

John Monks, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary, will be joining a wide platform of speakers at a meeting in Oldham this Wednesday under the banner "Coalition Against Racism - Unite to Stop the BNP".

The BNP aren't only a racist organisation, advocating the forced removal of all black people from Britain. Leading members have criminal convictions for violence. The BNP stands against freedom and democracy.

MSF stands for black and white unity, rather than division and violence. This is particularly important in Oldham, where nazi groups are attempting to organise. We encourage all members to attend this meeting:

7:30pm, Wednesday 14th November

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham Civic Centre, West St, Oldham

BULLYING AT WORK - 12/11/01

MSF is organising a showing of the TUC's excellent video on bullying at work. There will also be speakers, discussion and a buffet. This event is open to MSF and AEEU members.

7pm, 5th December 2001

Mechanics Institute, corner of Major St & Princess St, Manchester City Centre

VEGETARIAN FOOD - 12/11/01

Many MAN05 staff had assumed that deep fried restaurant food such as chips were suitable for vegetarians. It has been brought to our attention that in fact the chips are cooked in the same oil as sausages etc. This is obviously upsetting for many staff, including those who don't eat particular meats for religious reasons. The lack of notices which would allow staff to make informed food choices is obviously a matter of wider concern.

We are taking up the issue with the restaurant, but in the meantime advise members who wish to avoid meat not to eat deep-fried foods from the restaurant. If you have any queries about this issue please contact Health & Safety Rep Zahid Ramzan.

ICL Branding - 3rd October 2001

Following today's announcement to staff, more detail is available to ICL employees here.

The announcement has led to a series of questions from members about possible impact on Terms and Conditions, who our legal employer is, union recognition etc. None of the answers are clear yet, and your representatives will be exploring these questions over coming weeks. We do not believe that any of these issues arise immediately.

Catering in ICL - 3rd October 2001

All over the country anger is mounting over they way ICL unilaterally increased the price of food. Almost everyone asked is signing the petition - have you taken it round yet?

Please DON'T take out your frustration on the catering staff - they are victims of this ICL decision even more than you are. Please protest using the petition, by replying to the company announcement, emailing Richard Reed, the ICL Group Director, Corporate Infrastructure, and by emailing your local facilities manager ( for MAN05).

We'd also welcome more ideas for protests from members. Whatever we do, let's make sure it targets ICL, rather than undermining the jobs of catering staff, and that we all do it together.

MSF reps are due to meet HR in a stage 1 grievance meeting over this issue on 4 October.

UK Consultative Forum - 3rd October 2001

The UK Consultative Forum community on CafeVIK has been updated, including minutes of the last meeting, and information about the handling of the catering price rises. You can read details here.

You can configure your CafeVIK home page to show news from the UK Consultative Forum community (or any other) by following these instructions:

1. On the Cafe VIK home page while logged in i.e. with My Cafe VIK selected, ensure the left hand menu is open (click on the vertical Open Menu button if not)
2. Click on "MY COMMUNITIES" if it is not already open; if UK Consultative Forum is already in your list of communities, go to step 6
3. Click on the "Communities" tab on the menu across the top of the screen
4. In the second paragraph, which says "Click on the name of the Community you would like to visit. To amend the Communities you would like displayed in your personalised VIK Communities, or to view your membership details, click here." Click on here.
5. From the list of communities, find the UKCF and tick the box to the left of it; click on the Update button at the top or bottom of the page; you should now see the UKCF in your list of communities
6. Now you need to amend your news preferences: in the left hand menu, open the NEWS SERVICES sub menu, and select My Cafe Vik News
7. In the first paragraph of the next screen, click on the Amend button
8. Tick the box of the UKCF community (and any others you want news headlines for); click on the Update button
9. Each time you now log in to CafeVik, you will now see the latest headlines from your selected communities under the MY CAFE VIK NEWS heading

You can get Cafe VIK to log on automatically for you by changing your browser home page to:
http://logon.cafevik.fs.fujitsu.com/logon.asp?server=www.cafevik.fs.fujitsu.com/scripts/communities/index.asp?community=CafeVIK (all as one line).

Use of IT Facilities - 3rd October 2001

ICL's policies on acceptable use of IT are badly out of date and contradictory. We have had a number of cases where employees have been disciplined on the basis of these policies. MSF believes that in most cases ICL would improve employee behaviour more by sorting out clear policies, rather than punishing individuals.

Unfortunately, we believe that a clamp-down on use and alleged "misuse" of IT may be afoot. We'd therefore urge members to err on the side of caution in their use of email and the internet. There are also genuine network problems at the moment, and we should all play our part in minimising disruption. In particular:

• Don't email large attachments which aren't work-related
• Don't REPLY-TO-ALL to large lists
• Don't use Internet access for non-business purposes unless you're sure it's OK
• Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date

Carnival Against the Nazis in Oldham - 3rd October 2001

The "Respect Festival" - a huge carnival against the nazi BNP and NF in Oldham, is taking place on Saturday 20th October, in Werneth Park, Oldham.

It has been called by Oldham United Against Racism, and is supported by the North West TUC and the Anti Nazi League (ANL). Our branch has made a contribution towards the costs of organising it.

Leaflets are available from Ian Allinson. For more details, contact the ANL at PO Box 2566, London N4 1WJ, phone: 020 7924 0333, e- mail: anl@anl.org.uk or look at their website: www.anl.org.uk.

Food Price Rises - 1st October 2001

Food prices at MAN05 and most of the rest of the UK have been put up massively. At MAN05 the increase appears to be of the order of 40%. This represents a significant pay cut for all those who use the facility, and threatens the jobs of restaurant staff.

Please use this petition (a pdf file) to campaign against the price rises, as well as (for MAN05 staff) emailing our site facilities manager, .

On Wednesday, MAN05 HR sent MSF reps at MAN05 a copy of the notice which Richard Reed has since sent out, but told us that it was in confidence. We sent this back to Mike Russell in HR:

Mike,

we're deeply concerned about this. I understand from the UKCF that the expected impact on MAN05 is "high". The note itself is extremely vague and confusing, giving very little information. We note that you describe this as aimed at "saving ICL money". We don't believe that the use of the word "saving" is appropriate, as this does not reduce costs, merely transfers them onto employees.

While we will keep the content of the draft note confidential, as you request, we intend to discuss the proposed rises themselves with our members, as price rises are already in the public domain (from checkout operators telling customers).

Since the new prices are being determined on a site-by-site basis, we consider them to be within the scope of our MAN05 recognition agreement, and do not expect the price increases to be implemented until staff have been properly consulted through MSF.

We look forward to further details of the proposals for MAN05.

Ian Allinson
MSF

Having received no response by the time Richard Reed's announcement was made, we sent the following letter on Friday:

Mike,

We have read the announcement about restaurant pricing, which was sent to all employees. You had sent us a preview of this announcement, and you read our response on Wednesday. We specifically said that we didn't expect the rises to be implemented at MAN05 until we had been properly consulted. Since that time you have provided no response.

The subsidised restaurant facilities are part of the employee benefit package, and what is proposed amounts to a significant reduction in the value of this package. We are therefore lodging a collective grievance with you, and would remind you that under our procedure agreement, ICL should refrain from coercive action (implementing the price rises) until the grievance is resolved or the process is exhausted.

Please could you suggest dates for our stage 1 meeting, and ensure that no price rises are implemented in the meantime.

MSF reps committee

The price rises were implemented today, disregarding any attempt at reaching an agreement. The ICL's UK Consultative Forum (UKCF) were also bypassed in the most cavalier way.

1. How high will the prices go? To talk about "market prices" on sites with little local competition is wrong. It would be nearer "monopoly prices". If the companies running the catering get no subsidy, and just work to maximise their profit with a captive market, they might just as easily opt for low turnover and high margin rather than low margin and high turnover.
2. As prices rise, the levels of use of the restaurant will inevitably decline, with staff going elsewhere, buying less, or making their own sandwiches. This threatens the jobs of the catering staff, and makes further worsening of value and quality likely. The caterers are likely to offer more "cheap options" which are far less healthy, as alternatives to expensive meals.
3. At MAN05, with a move to a new site likely, is reducing the popularity of the restaurant a goal for ICL? That would reduce the restaurant space required on the new site.
4. The impact of the price rises is the equivalent of a pay cut. Either people will be paying more, or will be adding to their working day by making their own sandwiches. From the figures so far, it looks like the immediate impact at MAN05 will be about a 1% pay cut for most people (much more for some). Will further rises follow?
5. The fact that ICL felt it was OK to cut our benefits without consultation is very worrying. I think we'd be foolish to let this go without complaining, or more will follow.

Your reps need your feedback and ideas on this issue, and your help by collecting signatures on the petition.

Pay Analysis and Discrimination - 26th September 2001

You may recall that MSF had discussed with HR carrying out analysis of the 2001 pay rises, to investigate concerns about unfairness and discrimination. We've now received the first set of detailed data, relating to all the benchmarks in one professional community "role" in HPS, for trial analysis.

MSF reps have also raised with Mick Beadsley, manager of some of the MAN05 helpdesks, staff concerns about unfairness in career development opportunities. A positive discussion put to rest a number of these worries, and a welcome restatement of the relevant departmental practices.

MSF-AEEU Merger - 26th September 2001

Roger Lyons, the MSF General Secretary, has issued the following statement about the merger of MSF with the AEEU:

Following the merger ballot in which 80 per cent voted in favour of the amalgamation, the final details have now been resolved and the decision taken to put the amalgamation into effect.

Accordingly, MSF and the AEEU have now applied to the Certification Officer to register the Instrument of Amalgamation. The joint application was signed by the General Secretary and three members of the Executive of each union and lodged with the Certification Office on the 18 September 2001. The Certification Officer has been asked to register the Instrument on January 1 2002 so that we will truly have a New Union for the New Year.

The National Executive Council of MSF and the Executive Council of AEEU will both be convened at on Saturday 29 September in London, to receive a report on and consider the next steps towards the creation of the New Union.

We will continue to keep you informed of developments.

Can You Help? - 26th September 2001

MSF depends for its effectiveness on the involvement and activity of the membership. You ARE the union. Because of the agreement negotiated with ICL at West Gorton, some members are allowed work time to carry out union duties - these are your reps and Health & Safety reps. There are also a number of "helpers" or "contacts" around the site who help distribute notices etc from time to time.

With the growth in union membership and activity, we have an increasing number of people involved, but to become even more effective, we need more people to help where they can. Please consider what you can do.

1. Being a rep. Since Phil Eccles left ICL we have a vacancy on the reps committee. While the reps committee is elected by the members at our Annual General Meeting in March, the committee can co-opt members to fill vacancies. Could you help? If you're interested in the rep position, then please get in touch for a chat. The reps committee will make a decision based on volunteers who've come forward by Monday 8 October, providing their name, email address, phone number, location within the site, department, and no more than 200 words.
2. Being a Health & Safety rep. Health & Safety reps play a vital role in both policing standards on the site, and working to make a better working environment for us all. They have extensive legal rights and powers, and are entitled to training for their role. The European week of Health & Safety is coming up on 15-22 October, and we plan to carry out inspections of much of the site. Doing this with a more experienced H&S rep would be a great introduction to the role. If you're interested in being a rep or H&S rep, get in touch for a chat. Extra H&S reps are needed in quite a few areas of the site.
3. Being a "contact". As well as a few people doing a lot, we need a lot of people doing a little. If you can spend a few minutes of your own time every now and again helping out - let us know and we'll add you to our list of helpers.

Terrorist Disaster - 26th September 2001

Our MSF Regional Council unanimously agreed the following statement last weekend:

This Regional Council condemns the recent atrocities in America and extends its sympathy to all those who lost their lives or were injured.

The Regional Council, however, calls on the NEC to urge the government to be cautious when considering what any response should be and to urge the Americans to do likewise.

It is right that those guilty of these atrocities should be brought to justice but would be wrong for further innocent lives to be lost which could inevitably happen in any large scale military action.

[The NEC referred to is MSF's ruling National Executive Committee]

The reps committee also agreed to support a public meeting in Manchester:
"After the horror in New York - No War. A public rally to launch a coalition for peace." Thursday 27 September, 7:30pm, Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester (near Central Reference Library).
Speakers include Rae Street, the national chair of CND, and Bob Oram, the chair of UNISON's North West region.

We appreciate that there hasn't yet been an opportunity for members to decide policy on our response to the disaster. All members of the MSF Greater Manchester IT branch may attend the branch meeting (details below) and decide the branch policy on this, as on other matters, after an open discussion.

Site Services - 26th September 2001

The 19 maintenance staff in Site Services transferred from Chestertons to Dalkia on 17th September, with their full terms and conditions intact, and with a guarantee not to attempt to change them for the length of the contract. The new pension scheme is significantly less favourable than the old one.

Dalkia did not require all the staff on site, and offered to redeploy other staff elsewhere. At the members' request, a voluntary redundancy scheme has been established as an alternative for those who do not wish to be redeployed.

The 19 transferring include both the MSF and AEEU reps from Chestertons. Anyone from Site Services interested in helping to ensure that there is full representation from all the companies should get in touch with John Kirk or Ian Allinson for advice.

Disciplinary Injustice - 30 August 2001

On 9 August we reported that [name removed], one of your reps, had been suspended pending disciplinary investigation. He returned to work following protests from MSF, but then faced a disciplinary hearing.

As we prepared for the hearing it became obvious that there had been no investigation - all the evidence had been available before [name removed] was suspended. Indeed, the report of the investigation was completed before the letter confirming his suspension was sent out! We have yet to hear any satisfactory explanation.

The mess that is ICL's policy on non-business use of IT was highlighted in the hearing. ICL has a series of contradictory policies. One old policy says no non-business use is allowed, while more recent ones say that reasonable non-business use is permitted. If ICL were to apply the old policy fairly, most of us would be suspended, yet that is the only policy ICL wanted to consider. The manager considering the case had never seen one of the others.

After the hearing [name removed] was given a first written warning, and he has now lodged a letter of appeal.

Though he is now reinstated, ICL have "lost" his security clearance, so he is not allowed to return to his normal job. A personal folder has also been stolen from his desk (which is in a secure area).

[name removed]'s case is just the latest in a series which highlight the injustice being meted out under the guise of the Conduct policy, particularly on the call centres. These cases have raised innumerable issues, but the key ones include:

• Restrictions on the right to representation
• Failure to allow appeals to be heard
• Using the ancient "Acceptable Use of IT" policy to discipline people, ignoring more recent policies
• ICL's failure to update the Conduct policy to reflect legal changes made years ago
• Selective application of standards
• Improper use of suspensions

Your reps have repeatedly taken these issues up with ICL, but the situation is still totally unacceptable. This issue is now at the top of our agenda. As a first step we are organising a meeting for members from the helpdesks, where proposals for an initial response can be discussed.

Anti Nazi League - 30th August 2001

MSF is affiliated to the Anti Nazi League (ANL) at branch and national level. The ANL plays an important role in combating the nazi British National Party (BNP) and National Front, who are attempting to direct people's anger against scapegoats. Following the worrying votes for the BNP and increase in racist attacks in Oldham and Burnley, people in Greater Manchester have an important part to play in nipping this problem in the bud.

The ANL have organised a weekend of anti-nazi activity for this weekend (1-2 September), in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford. The ANL is aiming to leaflet every house in Oldham over the weekend as part of their "Don't Vote Nazi" campaign. For more details see www.anl.org.uk, email anl@anl.org.uk or ring the ANL on 020 7924 0333. Alternatively, if you want to join with other members of the branch in Oldham, contact Ian Allinson.

Main assembly points for 12 noon on Saturday 1 September are:

Burnley:

Colne railway station

Oldham:

Car park between Mecca Bingo and Bank Top Tavern

Bradford:

Centenary Square, town centre

Oldham United Against Racism and the North West Region of the TUC have called a carnival in Oldham for Saturday 20 October, which is also being supported by the ANL.

If you'd like to join the ANL as an individual member, you can send £5 (£1 concessions) payable to the Anti Nazi League to Anti Nazi League, PO Box 2566, London, N4 1WJ. Please include your name, address, phone, email and any union/relevant local organisation you are a member of.

e-Privacy - 30th August 2001

New guidelines that suggest staff may get greater protection against employers snooping on their e-mail and internet use have been greeted with concern by industry. The guidelines on staff surveillance have been set for government departments and agencies. They suggest ministerial support for the Information Commission, which is revising a code restricting companies rights to snoop. The new guidelines give employees much greater protection than rules that came into force under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act last year.

The guidance bans blanket monitoring and claims a simple ban on access to pornography is not sufficiently clear. It encourages departments to allow staff to make personal use of work internet and e-mail systems. Many businesses still see personal use of the internet at work by employees as a perk. Yet many of the most successful businesses in the new knowledge-based economy see full internet access for all staff as essential.

The guidelines warn against blanket monitoring, saying it would be unreasonable if members of staff were constantly being asked to explain their actions. Any snooping on the content of e-mails should be as far as possible, strictly limited and targeted.

The guidelines also suggest that government departments should have limited access to staff personal e-mails sent and received at work. Business organisations claim they need to be able to monitor all e-mails to control legal and regulatory risks. But the guidelines state that personal e-mail should only be opened if staff have previously been informed that this can happen and that there is a very good reason for doing so.

The guidelines can be accessed at http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/publications/guidelines/ework2/index.htm

[This article is taken from the Labour Research Department's weekly emailed Fact Service bulletin. Our MSF branch subscribes to this service - if you would like to be on the distribution list, please email Ian Allinson.]

Rep Faces Disciplinary Action - 9th August 2001

On Wednesday 1st August, [name removed], an MSF rep working in one of the call centres, was suspended on full pay pending disciplinary investigation. The suspension has been lifted, but he now faces a disciplinary hearing.

[name removed] sent a messages to a couple of friends using the windows "net send" facility. The messages were not offensive in any way, and they were text only, carrying no risk of virus infection. At the hearing, we will want to know why this action is being considered a disciplinary matter at all - reasonable non-business use of IT systems is permitted under ICL policies.

The case also showed that a number of important irregularities in ICL's actions which MSF has raised before have still not been resolved. For example, [name removed] was refused the right to be accompanied by a rep at the meeting which suspended him - a clear breach of our union recognition agreement, which gives every member the right to be represented. There has also been confusion amongst management and HR about who is responsible for certain decisions.

As for any member, MSF will be representing [name removed] at his hearing. Given that the case against [name removed] appears so frivolous, there are concerns that the action might be connected with his role as a rep. We reserve judgement on this until we've heard what the managers have to say at the hearing.

MSF will be continuing to progress the wider issues raised by this and other recent cases, and hope to secure changes to ICL's Conduct policy in the next few months. If you have suggestions for changes, please contact Ian Allinson. You can find the current Conduct policy here on CafeVik

Pensions Discrimination - 9th August 2001

ICL's pension scheme includes benefits for spouses or dependents if the employee dies. Many such pension schemes are now coming under pressure to review their rules to end discrimination in the provision of such benefits. While married partners automatically qualify for such benefits, unmarried partners (whether opposite sex or same sex) only receive such benefits on a discretionary basis. An increasing proportion of couples are unable to marry or choose not to do so, and the pension scheme could penalise them for this.

If you're interested in taking up this issue, please contact Rep Annie Leach. Though this issue affects ICL employees throughout the country, whether gay and straight, staff in same-sex relationships who work at MAN05 are likely to have the strongest case, and we'd very much like to hear from you.

Lesbian And Gay In MSF (LAGIM) have a helpline on 0345 413092, which any member is welcome to contact.

Software Licences - 9th August 2001

A reminder to staff that all software on your machines must be properly licensed. If you are ever put in a position of struggling to do your job legally due to difficulties obtaining licences, your MSF rep may be able to help you take up the issue. We'd certainly prefer to do so at that stage, than to see members face disciplinary action for using unlicensed software!

Repetitive Strain Injury - 9th August 2001

Last year about 3,000 won cases for Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), an agonizing condition which can be brought on by use of a computers for long periods, particularly if the workstation is badly set up. A recent Trades Union Congress (TUC) report says that over 150,000 people are actually suffering with the RSI.

Remember, every employee using a computer at work should have:

• a workstation assessment carried out by a competent person, to assess the risk of that person using that workstation
• regular free eye tests (see CafeVik for more info)

If you'd like help or advice on these issues, MSF have a team of Health & Safety reps on the site who are happy to help.

To find out who they are, and who covers which areas, see our website or CafeVik.

Branch Meeting Times - 9th August 2001

MSF's Greater Manchester IT branch currently meets at 5:30pm on the first Thursday of every month, in Manchester City Centre. Due to the growth and diversification of the branch, we're considering changing the meeting time from next year. Meeting later would make it easier for people who work further from the City Centre, as well as those who don't finish early.

If you are someone who might come to branch meetings occasionally (they are open to all members of the branch), please could you reply to this email stating:

1. Your preference for meeting time
2. Reasons
3. How big a difference it would make to your likely attendance

The branch Annual General Meeting, which will be held on Thursday 6 December, is likely to take the decision on future meeting times, and the branch would like to take account of the views of all those who might attend. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Pay Discrimination - 9th August 2001

Following concerns that the distribution of pay awards might be discriminatory, MSF have made a proposal to the HPS Human Resources department on piloting a method of analysing the pay system. This proposal has been welcomed, and we will be progressing this over the coming months. We anticipate that this will benefit all staff by reducing secrecy and subjectivity in the ICL pay system. Many thanks to the members who have already contributed to this work.

P&PS Restructuring - 26th July 2001

The job reductions in P&PS continue, and ICL's UK Consultative Forum (UKCF) is making a significant contribution in promoting the interests of the employees through this process. You can read the latest reports on the UK Consultative Forum community on CafeVIK.

If you log onto "My CafeVIK" and choose "My CafeVIK News" from under "NEWS SERVICES" in the left hand column, you can opt to have UKCF news highlighted for you on the CafeVIK front-page when you log on.

UKCF Elections - 26th July 2001

Following the departure of Suresh Patel from ICL, there was a vacancy for one of the Manchester UKCF seats. MSF member Adrian Stanley is standing for the seat, and you should by now have received your ballot form. Adrian's election address is reproduced at: http://www.ourunion.org.uk/fujitsu/adrian.htm and there is background information about the UKCF and elections here: http://www.ourunion.org.uk/fujitsu/ukcf.htm

Please give Adrian your support - please use your vote.

Other Job Losses - 26th July 2001

We are picking up news of job cuts in various parts of ICL.

If you know details of any job losses, please let your MSF rep know so that we can build up a picture of what's going on and provide accurate advice to members. We are aware that some staff have been told they must not discuss their situation with their rep - this is rubbish.

Some people seeking redeployment are being told that they aren't eligible for certain jobs internally because of recruitment restrictions. There ARE restrictions on EXTERNAL recruitment, but every effort should be being made to facilitate redeployment. If you are blocked from jobs in this way - challenge it.

Genoa G8 Protest - 26th July 2001

Two members of MSF's Greater Manchester IT branch took part in the colossal protests in Genoa at the G8 summit. Both are safe and well. The protests, called by the Genoa Social Forum, covered a range of issues including third world debt, climate change, George Bush's national missile defence plans, and the drive for privatisation.

Both delegates took part in a non-violent direct action protest on Friday, which was attacked by police using tear gas, water cannon and baton charges. They also took part in the protest on Saturday - estimates of numbers range from 150,000 to 300,000 protesters, overwhelmingly from Italy.

Ian Allinson, one of the branch delegates, says:

"Despite considerable efforts by various governments to prevent peaceful protesters reaching Genoa, hundreds of thousands of people peacefully protested against the priorities of the G8. The demonstrations were a celebration of diversity - people from every country, from trade unions and campaign groups, churches and political parties, uniting to demand that the G8 put the needs of the people of the world first."

"I was in the thick of the protests, and the atmosphere was fantastic. I didn't see a single protester break a window, throw a stone, or try to hit the police, yet even these peaceful protests were viciously repressed."

"On the Saturday night police stormed the headquarters of the Genoa Social Forum, and hospitalised most of the people inside, many of whom were asleep at the time. They beat up and arrested many protesters, including some from the UK, on ridiculous charges. Last night all the Britons were released without charge, and one of their lawyers claimed they had been beaten by police, and denied food for 2 days. One remains in hospital."

"I understand that the British media focussed overwhelmingly on the violence at the protests, which were overwhelmingly peaceful. Despite the repression, I believe the demonstrations have succeeded in forcing a number of important issues higher up the world agenda, mainly thanks to the 200,000 or so Italians who had the courage to go out and protest on Saturday, even after one protester had been shot dead."

There will be a full report-back from the demonstration at our next branch meeting (see below). For more information, and details of how to protest at the infringement of the human rights of the British protesters, see: http://www.resist.org.uk.

Branch Meeting - 26th July 2001

The next meeting of MSF's Greater Manchester IT Branch will be:

5:30pm, Thursday 2 August
Upstairs, Hare & Hounds Pub,
Shudehill, Manchester City Centre

The agenda will include a full report back from the Genoa G8, and a discussion of ideas for developing the branch over the coming months.

Bullying Case - 3 July 2001

In recent months your reps have spent considerable time and effort in relation to a series of allegations from a number of staff that a particular manager at MAN05 was bullying their subordinates. The allegations were of a serious nature.

MSF reps have been instrumental in pressing for the situation to be dealt with in line with ICL's policies. This is vital to resolving such issues in a delicate but effective manner, to protect the welfare of all concerned.

We can report that the individual about whom the allegations were made has resigned, and has left ICL. This took place before any formal investigation was initiated.

The courage of the staff in coming forward, and the hard work of the local reps on their behalf, has paved the way for morale in the department to improve. We look to ICL management to play their part in learning from the case and being vigilant to prevent abuse of this kind in future.

UKCF Meeting - 3 July 2001

ICL's UK Consultative Forum met in Slough and Beaumont on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. Topics included rebranding, P&PS restructuring, company results, relocations, the ICL approach to employee consultation, changes to ICL's employment policies, Linkwise and headcount changes.

The minutes of the meeting are available here in the UKCF Community on CafeVik.

Pay - 30th May 2001

The ISD pay plan for 2001 was approved last week. The overall budget is 4% of the salary bill. This is the change in the total salary bill, and not necessarily an "average" rise. Analysis of the HPS figures suggests that "average rises" will be slightly above 4%, except for males over 50. The average being above the budget is possible because younger staff have typically received higher PERCENTAGE rises based on lower salaries.

Individual letters will be distributed between 4th and 18th June.

If you are not satisfied with your pay award, you should in the first instance seek an explanation from your manager as to how your award was determined. If necessary ask also for details of the pay scale for your professional community benchmark/role. If the answers you receive do not resolve your dissatisfaction you could consider lodging a formal grievance - contact your MSF rep for advice.

Pathway 6 - 30th May 2001

Many thanks to all the members who circulated and signed the petition in support of the 6 Pathway helpdesk employees disciplined for taking part in a web forum. The appeal hearing for a member who received a final written warning is this Friday, so please return any further petitions as soon as possible.

Disciplinary Good Practice Guide - 30th May 2001

A lot of the time of your MSF reps has been spent dealing with disciplinary cases in recent months. This work has been made much more difficult by inconsistent application of ICL's Conduct policy by managers and human resources (HR), and by poor decisions where the policy is silent or judgement is required.

In an effort to raise the standard of justice available to members, MSF reps at MAN05 are producing a "good practice guide" for disciplinary cases which we aim to agree with HR.

Report from Lunchtime Anti-Racist Meeting - 30th May 2001

MSF held a lunchtime meeting on 3rd May, at the West Gorton Working Men's Club, which discussed the recent events in Oldham.

Pensioner Bartley Willcock of the Anti Nazi League spoke of his own experiences, and his determination to continue opposing the neo-Nazis who are whipping up racist hysteria for their own ends. He emphasised how important it is that ordinary people provide an opposing voice to these racist thugs, and support the local residents. The British National Party have candidates standing in Oldham, and think they can win votes by terrorising people.

This was a fascinating and inspiring meeting, especially in view of the continued problems in Oldham.

For more information on the Anti Nazi League, see http://www.anl.org.uk.

Branch Meeting - 30th May 2001

The next meeting open to all members of Greater Manchester IT Branch will be:

5:30pm, Thursday 7 June (election day)
Upstairs, Hare & Hounds pub,
46 Shudehill, Manchester City Centre, M4 4AA

There will be a guest speaker from CND talking about the proposed "Nuclear Missile Defence" programme popularly known as "Son or Star Wars".

Unions and the Internet Conference - 30th May 2001

Two delegates from our branch - Ian Allinson and [hidden] - attended a conference on "Unions and the Internet" organised by the TUC. Many of the presentations are available online at http://www.tuc.org.uk/internetconference.

A report on the conference will be given at our next branch meeting on Thursday 7 June, (see above).

Marxism 2001 Conference - 30th May 2001

Our MSF Branch has decided to pay for 2 tickets for members to join our delegation attending the Marxism 2001 conference in London in July. The conference attracts around 6000 people from across the world to hundreds of meetings, forums and debates. Speakers include:

• Susan George, leading anti-globalisation activist.
• Bob Crow, deputy general secretary of the RMT union.
• Gary Younge, journalist and author of No Place Like Home.
• Mark Serwotka, general secretary elect of the PCS union.
• Barry Coates, director of the World Development Movement.
• Chris Harman, editor of Socialist Worker.
• Liz Davies, former Labour Party National Executive Committee member
• Tony Benn MP
• Rae Street and Norma Wilson from CND
• Paul Foot, journalist

Full details of the event are available from Rep Ian Allinson, or from our web site on the Events page.

If you're interested in going, please contact Ian Allinson to reserve your ticket as soon as possible.

Report from UK Consultative Forum Training Day - 30th May 2001

The UK Consultative Forum (UKCF) is ICL's employee representative body for the UK. For further information, see the "UK Consultative Forum" community on CafeVik. A majority of the reps on the UKCF are MSF members.

Hilary Robinson (an MSF member from MAN05) attended a one-day course about "Employee Consultation" for UKCF reps in Slough on 22nd May.

The speaker was John Kirkham, from the Industrial Society - an independent body set up to "promote best practice at work". He outlined ICL's legal obligations to consult in areas such as business transfers (TUPE), Health & Safety (H&S) and Redundancy.

Interestingly, he was highly sceptical about whether an organisation the size of ICL could possibly consult employees individually about H&S, as they claim to do in sites without union recognition and the resulting network of H&S reps.

We also discussed the role of accompanying employees in "disciplinary" meetings, stressing the legal right of a worker to be accompanied by a colleague or union rep. Overall, a useful day which should help the UKCF reps understand and carry out their duties in the future.

G8 @ Genoa - 30th May 2001

Protesters against third world debt, forced privatisation and the exploitation of the planet will converge in their thousands on Genoa this July. The weekend of demonstrations is intended to focus the world's attention on the behaviour of the Group of Eight (G8) biggest industrial powers.

The undemocratic and secretive meetings in Genoa will have a profound effect on every worker, every state and every aspect of the environment. In Britain, hospitals, schools and public transport will come under yet more pressure from private companies.

A train (with bunks) has been booked from England, and our MSF branch has decided to contribute towards to the cost of members wishing to take part in the protests. The train leaves on 19 July, and returns on 22 July.

Further details are available from Rep Ian Allinson, or from our web site on the Campaigns page.

Unions And The Internet - 27 April 2001

The TUC are organising a conference on 12 May about Unions and the Internet, which two of our reps are attending. They have a survey for union members - you - the results of which will be used at the conference. Please take the time to fill it out, if you have Internet access.

Pensions, Health & Safety And UK Consultative Forum - 27 April 2001

It is with regret that we report that Suresh Patel is leaving ICL on 4th May. Suresh has been an active member of MSF for many years. Until this year he was on the reps committee, and he still holds a number of roles, which are detailed below.

If you're interested in any of these roles, please get in touch to discuss what's involved.

Pensions Consultative Committee

The ICL pension fund is unusual in not having directly elected member trustees. Members of the pension fund elect a "consultative committee", which discusses pension issues, and they in turn elect some of the trustees, though a majority are chosen by the company. Suresh and Annie Leach are currently the two MSF members from MAN05 who serve on the pensions consultative committee. If you'd be interested in standing in a possible election to work alongside Annie - please give her a ring.

Health & Safety Rep

We need more Health & Safety reps throughout the site. Health & Safety reps are appointed by the union, and have wide ranging powers to deal with health and safety issues. Full training is available. There's a considerable body of research showing that having H&S reps is a major factor in making a workplace a safe and healthy place.

ICL's UK Consultative Forum

Along with Suresh, the other MSF members from MAN05 on the UKCF are Hilary Robinson and Ian Allinson. The UKCF, a majority of whose members are in MSF, discusses a wide range of issues. Take a look at the UK Consultative Forum community on CafeVIK. Recent major issues have included job losses and the sale of ICL departments. The constituency which Suresh represents does not include only MAN05, but most of the North-West sites, including Manchester and Warrington, so a candidate can come from any of these areas.

Relocation - 27 April 2001

Many of you will have seen press reports about the potential relocation of MAN05, not all of which are accurate. The situation is as follows. ICL has a strategy of "aggressive space reduction" to get rid of much of its property.

Manchester City Council has appointed its developer for the regeneration area about 2 miles north of MAN05. ICL would like to consolidate a number of its Manchester sites onto this single site. If ICL can get a satisfactory deal, it is the intention to move to this site. This would involve leaving the tower block as well as the other MAN05 buildings. Richard Reed from ICL is due to meet the developer, but nothing has been signed yet.

No move would take place for about 2 years or so, and MSF are keen to ensure that any new site offers the best possible facilities for employees. Reps and H&S reps will need your involvement to help identify issues and opportunities for improvement.

Reps are holding a meeting on 8 May to discuss a strategy for dealing with the potential relocation.

Parental Leave - 27 April 2001

There have been a number of improvements in legal rights to parental leave in recent years, and the ICL policies have improved too. The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has launched a website providing advice and information on pregnancy and maternity rights at work.

Save Gorton Tub - 27 April 2001

The campaign to save the Gorton Tub swimming pool has so far been successful in delaying closure twice. The campaign is organising a family fun day and protest for Saturday 5th May. The fun day events start from 1:30pm, and there will be a protest at 3:30pm. For more details, see the campaign web site at http://www.savegortontub.freeserve.co.uk

MSF-AEEU Merger Result - 23 April 2001

Members of both MSF and the AEEU have voted to accept the proposed merger of the two unions. The votes were as follows:

MSF

• Ballot papers distributed 299,106
• Ballot papers returned 91,592
• Ballot papers found to be invalid 85
• Total ballot papers counted 91,507
• Turnout 30.6%
• Those voting yes 73,045 (79.8%)
• Those voting no 18,462 (20.2%)

AEEU

• Ballot papers distributed 732,673
• Ballot papers returned 214,459
• Ballot papers found to be invalid 446
• Total ballot papers counted 214,013
• Turnout 29.2%
• Those voting yes 180,456 (84.3%)
• Those voting no 33,557 (15.7%)

The process of merging the structures of the two unions will take some years, but the new name is likely to be chosen over the coming months. Suggestions are encouraged from members.

Organising - 23 April 2001

Many thanks to all the members who have helped distribute our MSF mousemats around ICL. Nearly 500 have been snapped up. If you helped distribute the mousemats, would you be prepared to help distribute other MSF leaflets etc from time to time? Contact Ian Allinson if you want to be added to our list of helpers.

March saw record recruitment into MSF, with over 25 people joining through the West Gorton group alone. Do you know someone who might join? Why not ask them? See our "Join MSF" page for details.

Mousemats - 3 April 2001

At long last the snazzy new mousemats advertising the Greater Manchester IT Branch of MSF have arrived. They are available free - you can get them from your rep, or from Rep Ian Allinson. Using them helps raise the profile of the union (and they're also very good quality mousemats). Why not collect a handful and pass them round your workmates?

Your New Reps Committee - 30 March 2001

Following the election of these 9 members to the reps committee at the AGM:

• Lynne Hodge
• [hidden]
• Chris Morton
• [hidden]
• Phil Tepper
• Annie Leach
• Ian Allinson
• John Wood
• Graham Blake

the reps committee has since met, and took the following decisions:

• Co-opt Mat Taylor and Frazer Cooke onto the reps committee
• Elect Annie Leach as group chair
• Elect Ian Allinson as group secretary
• Appoint Jose Baranguan as treasurer (subject to his agreement)
• Appoint Derek Wise as auditor (subject to his agreement)
• Appoint Michael Farrell as a new Health & Safety rep

The committee is now considering allocation of areas of responsibility, issues etc.

Report from Annual General Meeting - 30 March 2001

Phil Tepper, gave the chair's report:

Phil reported that during the past year the group had established its own bank account. This gave us access to immediate funds for organising/campaigning. Jose Baranguan had been elected as group Treasurer and retired member Derek Wise had taken on the position of Auditor. Group funds at year end 2000 stood at £109.50 - full details were available for members to inspect.

Ian Allinson, gave the secretary's report:

At the 2000 AGM, we had reported that MSF had made a breakthrough in organising and recruiting, and was having considerably more success over some issues. Ian reported that over the last 12 months this progress had accelerated, and was spreading throughout ICL.

Ian explained that he would cover two main issues in this talk - organising, and the potential merger with the AEEU.

The MAN05 MSF group had had a full set of 11 reps this year, and Ian thanked everyone involved, they had worked hard to build the union and protect the interests of the workforce. We had prioritised tackling two categories of issues - essentials and those where the company was acting against its own interests. The essentials were those issues so important that MSF simply had to be involved to keep people informed, whether we could influence outcomes significantly or not. We also picked issues where there was a smaller gap between the interests of the workforce and those of ICL plc, where we believed MSF could influence events more easily.

We had recruited large numbers of employees at MAN05 and beyond - more any of us can remember. MSF is growing at 20% a year in the IT industry, and membership in ICL is growing significantly faster than that. We had also made good progress in developing a national network of trade unionists in ICL and the IT industry, helped by MSF's IT Professionals Association, and by ICL's new UK Consultative Forum.

MSF at MAN05 is leading the way in the development of trade unions in the IT industry. Our branch, which recently changed from being an "ICL" branch to being an "IT" industry branch for our region, is building on our successes in ICL to unionise other IT companies. Our workplace and our branch are also leading the way in the adoption of IT within the trade union movement. We've been using email to communicate amongst reps, with members, and with managers for many years. Our award-winning web site has recently moved to a new address at www.ourunion.org.uk and members of our branch are developing web sites for MSF's national IT Professionals Association (http://www.unite-itpa.org) and the MSF Regional Education committee.

Overall, it's been a year of rapid progress in building an effective trade union in ICL.

Ian reported on the potential merger of MSF with the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU), over which a ballot of members is taking place. This had been the subject of debate at the 2000 Annual Conference, and a later recall conference in November, at both of which Ian had been our branch delegate.

The agreed MSF policy is to promote the benefits of a merger. Ian explained the arguments for the merger. MSF needs more resources, and the AEEU is a richer union. The merger made industrial sense in many workplaces, where MSF and AEEU members worked side-by-side. At MAN05 we have a small number of AEEU members, with whom we had a good relationship, and Ian explained that having a single union would make his job a little easier in some respects.

Ian was asked why MSF was short of money - whether there were "exceptional expenses" in the last year, or whether it was just running costs. Ian explained that union membership had generally declined in the 1980s, due to job losses in well unionised industries. Unions were only beginning to raise membership again by unionising new industries such as IT. Having had time to consider this question after the meeting closed, Ian wondered whether it referred to the allegations about abuse of expenses at the top of MSF. Whatever view one takes of these allegations, the sums are insignificant in the context of the merger debate. The reps had been critical of large settlements with former employees, and these, along with associated legal costs, are far more significant. However, the key to the union's future, whether merged or not, is to recruit and organise effectively. It is the success or failure of these efforts that counts.

Ian explained that the vote taking place was not just on the principle of the merger, but also on the specific terms of the merger, set out in the "Instrument of Amalgamation" and new rules. Ian had voted against the merger at both conferences, because he was concerned about the nature of the new union, particularly that he felt it would be more top-down and less democratic. Ian was concerned at the role the AEEU top leadership had played in undermining the principles of good trade unionism. Our branch had passed a resolution, which was then passed by our Regional Council, which criticised the one-sided information given to members about the merger, and called for a debate in which both sides were heard.

In summary, Ian reported that the success of the last year had been based on more people putting in a lot of work. We had also started to involve more people in doing a little. To develop our organisation over the next year it is crucial that more members do a little - even 5 minutes a week - to build the union. The reps were concerned at what appeared to be a more dictatorial attitude to employees from ICL since the cancellation of flotation, and were working to reverse that trend by building on the success of the last year.

There were lots of small jobs which members could help with, including:

• Being a "contact" for your area, who would help distribute occasional leaflets etc
• Using an MSF mousemat, which raises the visibility of the union on the site
• Talking to colleagues about issues MSF is taking up
• Recruiting colleagues
• Giving us ideas and information

[NOTE: the printers failed to deliver the mousemats on time. We will put out a notice when they are available.]

The following 9 members were nominated as reps, and duly elected:

• Lynne Hodge
• [hidden]
• Chris Morton
• [hidden]
• Phil Tepper
• Annie Leach
• Ian Allinson
• John Wood
• Graham Blake

Further information about the reps committee is given below.

John Wood, rep, reported on Linkwise:

MSF have been monitoring the performance of Linkwise, as well as providing a lot of support, advice and representation for members. We'd had considerable success in influencing outcomes in individual cases, but were still having difficulty assessing the overall situation.

Ian Allinson reported on P&PS restructuring

ICL's Projects & Professional Services division (P&PS) is not performing well. A large part of P&PS had been the "Tech Centre", which was a flexible resourcing pool of people available to do work inside ICL. This had suffered from a number of problems, including:

• Administrative procedures which made it hard for people to work on more than one project at a time
• Higher management and admin costs
• Poor teamworking and organisational learning
• A workforce including many who had been forced in, and never wanted to work in a "contractor" lifestyle

P&PS had engaged in several restructuring exercises. "Project Pluto" had been a programme of moving staff into Linkwise, where they were likely to be made redundant. More information about this is available from the UK Consultative Forum community Cafevik.

Project Pluto should have ended a long time ago, but was dragging on. P&PS didn't seem able to achieve a consistent implementation of their decisions throughout the organisation. For example, selection criteria discussed with the UKCF were unilaterally modified by local management.

P&PS was now undergoing a further restructuring. It would no longer provide flexible resources inside ICL. It was being refocused on external consultancy work. The changes are a combination of regrading and transfers, though this is not how ICL describe it.

The "regrading" is adding an extra layer on top of the Professional Communities, and it is far from clear how the two will work together.

MSF has a number of concerns about the transfer of staff from the Tech Centre into other divisions. Firstly, staff are being treated as "human resources" rather than human beings. In far too many cases staff are having little or no involvement in decisions about their future. This will lead to bad decisions, and poor morale. Secondly, we weren't clear about how staff were being selected for transfer (we attach more information on P&PS transfers below). We were concerned that there might be "cherry picking" by either P&PS or the other divisions, only wanting the best staff. Our third concern was whether the new divisions really wanted all these people, and therefore whether jobs would be secure in the medium term.

There are several avenues through which staff and MSF can take up concerns - through MAN05 HR, via the UKCF, and through individual cases.

Nick Clayton reported on the helpdesks:

MSF had been very active in the call centres on site this year. As well as new contracts, we had had a host of teething problems, and large numbers of individual disciplinary cases. MSF had put a lot of effort into recruiting and organising the staff in the call centres, with considerable success.

New communications structures had been set up on the desks in recent months in which MSF reps were involved, and these had considerably improved the atmosphere. The atmosphere much calmer now, and the flood of disciplinary cases had stopped.

Annie Leach reported on bullying:

Annie explained what we meant by bullying, and that it was a genuine problem at MAN05. Bullying often resulted in victims becoming very ill, or leaving the company. MSF helps support staff who want to stop bullying, but also wanted to prevent it.

As a result of one case we'd been involved in, HPS have set up bullying awareness training, which we encourage people to make use of. The longer bullying is left unidentified or unchallenged, the harder it is to deal with.

For more information on bullying, see our resources page. There are also resources available from our library, which members can use by contacting Rep Phil Tepper.

Hilary Robinson, UKCF rep:

The UK Consultative Forum (UKCF) was set up last year. MSF activists stood for election in most areas, with the aim of having reps with access to the support of the union, raising the union's profile across the company, accessing information from ICL and improving our network of contacts on other sites.

The majority of UKCF reps returned are MSF people.

We have had three full meetings and several tele-conferences, as well as frequent contact with each other via e-mail etc. We are exceeding our expectations, but there are also frustrations, such as the difficulty of getting management to consult meaningfully rather than just briefing us. Topics covered include Mobile Engineering (Harmonisation of Contracts) and Project Pluto (Re-engineering E-Apps). At the height of activity on Project Pluto, the UKCF Community on CafeVIK sustained a massive number of hits as the only place to get real information.

The MSF UKCF reps covering MAN05 are Hilary Robinson and Suresh Patel. Ian Allinson is the European Consultative Forum (ECF) rep for the area, and so part of the UKCF too.

Ian Allinson reported on the 2001 pay review:

In the 2000 pay review, it had taken the involvement of our MSF Regional Officer, Roger Jeary, to secure pay information which we required for bargaining purposes. For the 2000 pay review we sought this information in plenty of time, but ICL were still dragging their feet.

Ian suggested that simply by attending the AGM, members had already achieved a success. Pay scale information had been provided to reps a short time before the meeting, after reps warned ICL that we'd have to report their obstruction to the members.

Reps had not had time to examine the information, and there was still further information required. To the disgust of the meeting, reps had been told that the data was confidential, so little report was possible at this stage.

A provisional pot size had been set for ISD, and this is the same for each unit within ISD. Middle managers were given spreadsheets relating to all their staff. The managers were then responsible for proposing pay rises taking account of a number of criteria:

• Value to the business
• Performance in the job
• Peer group comparison
• Market rate
• Legal obligations

The main emphasis was placed on value to the business, but other factors should be taken into account, including market rate anomalies, key skill areas etc.

The proposed pay plan is expected to be ready for sign-off by Richard Christou by the end of March, but there will be room for adjustments after that date, within the overall budget.

We'd had success over the last year in making it easier for staff to get access to their pay scales. Our involvement this year has been in pushing for figures, more openness, and assisting individuals. It's been a low-key issue, but not one we've ignored.

Suresh Patel reported on pensions:

Suresh reported on the main activities that had occurred over the last year taking each in chronological order.

Pensions were included in the flexible benefits last year. Individuals could choose to flex up or down their pensions benefits with an adjustment in salary. The hardest part of the flexing was to determine if the benefit was worth the amount of salary adjustment. ICL was not contributing to the additional benefit, flexing up meant that the individual paid for it. MSF found that the default 1/60th was also changed for new employees. This was something that was observed and MSF were not consulted over it. ICL had claimed that new and younger employees had a higher priority for earned wages and hence wages were increased and the pensions default changed to 1/75th.

ICL closed the Defined Benefits (Final Salary) pension scheme to new entrants. A defined contribution scheme was introduced. ICL introduced this new scheme to limit the liabilities that ICL have for the pensions. MSF tried to protect the rights the benefit for employees but at the same time we were getting some feedback from members who expressed that they preferred the defined contribution scheme. In any case we were not able to influence much in this area. Again there was no consultation with MSF in this area.

Two MSF reps: Annie Leach and Suresh Patel were elected to the ICL Pensions Consultative Committee. Suresh thanked all for voting them onto the committee.

Suresh reported that the Lords decision affecting Equitable Life and hence the ICL with profits AVCs led to large concerns amongst members. We were unable to get ICL to move speedily including getting information. Although Equitable had closed its doors to new with profits policies it was still possible for an ICL employee to take up a with profits policy for AVCs. This was due to ICL being considered an already existing single subscriber to Equitable policies.

The Lords decision on part time workers rights to company pension schemes will lead to claims by part time workers who were denied their rights in the past. There are strict guidelines on the time limits for the claim and for making the claim. Suresh asked the members who want to claim to come forward or pass on the message to others who may want to claim.

Suresh then reported that MSF reps. can help in the pensions area. They do get information earlier than the employees. He also stressed that although the reps. can generically advice and give information they are not in a position to give financial advice.

He reported that working with ICL on the pensions side is no where near ideal. MSF have a long way to go before we are in a position where we are consulted and hence influence the decisions at an early stage. One possible inroad into this would be to get an MSF Rep. onto the Pensions Trustees board. MSF do get some information, usually later than MSF would like. The actions MSF take should be guided by what the members want. Suresh asked the members to put forward their views to MSF reps. thus allowing the reps. to serve the members.

Chris Morton reported on Health & Safety:

Chris explained that MSF had been involved in a wide range of health and safety issues, ranging from the safety of the tower block, workstation assessments and drinking water to consultation arrangements.

Chris quoted figures for the number of days off work which result from accidents and illness caused by the working environment. Prevention is better than cure.

MSF at West Gorton has a good team of 14 Health & Safety reps (plus 2 from the AEEU), but the site needs more. Chris urged members to consider taking up the role, and to talk it over with existing reps or H&S reps.

Ian Allinson summed up:

The last year was one in which we built up union in MAN05, ICL and IT. We supported members more effectively than before. The MSF group has a good solid core now. To build on this we need more people who can do a little - 10 minutes every few weeks in a break? There's lots that people can do, from being a "contact" who helps distribute notices from time to time, using an MSF mouse mat (when they arrive), recruitment, or just giving your rep ideas and information.

Let us know what you can offer.

Transfers from P&PS to Divisions - 30 March 2001

As reported at the AGM, staff are being transferred from P&PS into other divisions such as ISD. This does not automatically give ICL the right to change Terms and Conditions, location etc. in any way.

One of the concerns of staff was how the transfers might impact the pay review process, which is underway at the same time. Peter Richardson from ISD HR has given us the following statement: "P&PS staff transferred into ISD will be included in the P&PS pay plan."

Staff are being transferred with their appraisal results already completed, and these are used as one of the inputs to the normal ISD pay planning process.

If staff are unhappy with their transfer (or lack of it) they should seek advice from a rep at the first opportunity, and ideally before the transfer takes effect.

Enhanced Early Retirement - 5 March 2001

Rumours have been circulating that the Enhanced Early Retirement scheme has been stopped, and we want to clarify the situation. The scheme has been temporarily suspended until the end of the financial year, as the budget from which it was funded has run out. There is a budget for next year, and the scheme will be available again from April.

Two MSF reps at MAN05 are also on the ICL Pension Fund Consultative Committee - Suresh Patel and Annie Leach.

New Web Site - 5 March 2001

Following the success of our award-winning MSF ICL West Gorton web site, our union branch decided to buy some proper web space. We ran a competition for members to suggest our new web address, and the winner was:

www.ourunion.org.uk

As a first step, our group web site has been moved to the new address, and more features will be added over coming months. If you have suggestions for the site, please contact our

The old web space provided by u-net will be switched off in the next few weeks, so PLEASE REMEMBER TO UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARKS/FAVOURITES.

Pay - 28 February 2001

MSF has been pressing for more openness in ICL's pay planning process. The pay scales for each professional community "benchmark" are not currently published. This secrecy reduces every employee's ability to negotiate their pay each year.

Last year MSF at MAN05 successfully maintained the right of your union to have access to overall pay information for bargaining purposes.

ICL now has a clear policy that employees can see the pay scales for benchmarks relevant to them. [See the October minutes of ICL's UK Consultative Forum on CafeVik for more information]. Individuals should ask their manager or HR department for the relevant information.

The pay scales themselves consist of lower, mid and upper figures, which are the lower quartile, median and upper quartile figures from ICL's market rate analysis.

ICL's policy is to pay market rate (the median figure) for good performance.

Job Security - 28 February 2001

Across ICL there have been a number of job losses. The biggest cut in the UK was "Project Pluto" in what is now Projects & Professional Services (P&PS), which involved moving around 200 UK staff into Linkwise.

MSF has been involved at both the collective level, and through a number of individual cases.

We are very disappointed that ICL refused to encourage volunteers to come forward, which could have avoided much of the impact on individuals, and the damage to morale that job losses inevitably produce.

MSF has had successes in individual cases. Reps helped reach a financial settlement in a case where ICL refused to allow an employee to work their notice. In another case we helped ensure that a volunteer was accepted - hopefully securing the job of another ICL employee who wanted to stay. The member says:

"My department was in the process of selecting staff for redundancy so I asked my manager to put my name forward. He made several attempts to get me added to the list. Each attempt failed because of some block within HR."

"I then asked the Union what I could do and they put me in touch with a senior HR manager. The result of this was that the HR block disappeared."

"If I hadn't contacted the Union, I wouldn't have got redundancy." MSF helped another member successfully secure their job:

"In January I was invited to a meeting, to take place the following day. When I asked if the meeting was to do with Linkwise, I was told it was. I contacted an MSF rep straight away, and they represented me at the meeting."

"I felt it was unfair that I wasn't given any information about why I was selected, and so, on the advice of my union rep, I raised a grievance, so that my transfer to Linkwise would be stopped while we tried to resolve it. Whilst I was still in the Technical Centre I found another assignment, and my transfer to Linkwise was prevented."

"I went ahead with my grievance meeting, as I wanted to find out why I'd been selected, and make sure that if it was unfair it wouldn't happen again. I was well represented, and ICL accepted that I had skills which had not been taken into account in scoring me."

"Having the advice and support from MSF definitely gave me more confidence to fight what had happened to me, and I'm pleased with the result we achieved. Not only have I avoided being in Linkwise, but my managers are now much more aware of what skills I have."

Those Who Can, Do. Those Who Can't, Bully. - 28 February 2001

Many people imagine that bullying would be an issue left behind in the playground. Sadly this is not the case. Stress is a major cause of ill-health and time off work, and bullying is a major cause of stress.

ICL's harassment policy defines bullying as:

"the intentional intimidation or belittling of someone through the misuse of power or position; it is destructive criticism of a person rather than constructive feedback about their mistakes; it publicly humiliates rather than privately corrects and results in the individual feeling threatened or compromised"

Bullying can have a devastating effect on individuals, and on the company. In recent months MSF reps at MAN05 have dealt with a number of cases of bullying, and we're keen to put a stop to it. MSF have:

• Advice and guidance available for members
• Proposed changes in ICL's procedures for dealing with bullying and harassment
• Won agreement with ICL for Professor Cary Cooper's specialist team from UMIST to deliver bullying awareness training at MAN05 in the next few months

MSF need your help in dealing with this issue.

We're conducting a confidential survey on bullying at MAN05. If you have observed anything that you consider bullying or harassment, we'd like you to write down the details and send it to Annie Leach here at MAN05.

This information will be treated in strictest confidence and will not be passed to ICL without your agreement. The purpose is solely for MSF reps to understand the scale and nature of the problem.

Please note that this is not a substitute for you reporting any incidents via ICL's Harassment policy. MSF reps can advise you on this process if you wish.

Discipline - 28 February 2001

Employers need a disciplinary procedure to set a clear line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. It is in the interests of all concerned that this be fair, clear and effective. ICL's disciplinary procedure is called "Conduct" and is on the Human Resources community on CafeVIK.

MSF reps have been representing individual members in an increasing number of cases, particularly in the Call Centres on site. We believe that many of these cases would have been best dealt with informally. Disciplinary procedures should be "corrective, not punitive".

As well as helping individual members, MSF reps have established a dialogue with managers and Human Resources. ICL can only be successful if it's a good place to work. That means managers being confident to apply good judgement to resolve problems that occasionally arise.

MSF reps undergo extensive training in handling individual cases, both disciplinary cases (when the company complains about you), and grievances (when you complain about the company). It's better for everyone if you involve us as early as possible - don't leave it too late.

Here are a few Frequently Asked Questions from staff about the disciplinary procedure.

Q: Will ICL allow me to be represented?
A: Yes. ICL West Gorton has a union recognition agreement where ICL accepts the right of MSF members to be represented. New legislation last year also banned any employer from denying union members representation by a union official.

Q: If I appeal against a warning, can this make things worse?
A: No. An appeal can only uphold or reduce a disciplinary sanction.

Q: I think my manager is going to discipline me - what will happen?
A: Your manager will write to you to invite you to a disciplinary hearing. They should provide details of what the alleged misconduct is, a copy of the Conduct policy, and copies of any relevant evidence. Contact your MSF rep straight away.

Pensions - 28 February 2001

We've had three big pension issues in the last few months:

• ICL closing the "final salary" pension package to new members, offering only a "money purchase" deal with lower employer contributions
• The financial problems faced by Equitable Life, affecting many staff with Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)
• The latest (very positive) legal result over part-time workers being denied access to pension funds in the past

We're lucky enough to have two MSF reps at MAN05 who also sit on ICL's Pensions Consultative Committee. These are Suresh Patel and Annie Leach. Please contact them for help with pensions issues.

Safe? Legal? - 28 February 2001

Unions won £320 million in compensation for their members who were victims of illness and injury in 1999, according to a TUC survey. But, the survey says a busy union legal department is a sign of failure - many workplace accidents could be prevented if employers ensured their staff's environment was safe.

The TUC's annual Trade Union Trends survey, Focus on services to injury victims, gives an overview of changing trends in union legal services and shows:

• unions took on 54,655 new cases in 1999 and concluded 51,936 during the year. The majority of cases were civil but a small percentage were criminal cases;
• there were 2,705 new criminal cases and 1,558 criminal cases resolved in 1999;
• the £320 million payout is the second highest reported in Trade Union Trends - working out at an average of £6,150 per case;
• thirty-three of the 37 unions responding said they now offer non work-related legal services, from claiming social security benefits to representation in road traffic accidents;
• hundreds of different types of injury or illness cases are being handled by unions but they specifically cite stress as an issue with 516 new stress cases in 1999;
• trends reported include an increase in RSI cases, asbestosis and vibration white finger;
• legal services continue to be good value for money with unions spending an average of £6 a year per member.

John Monks, TUC general secretary, said:

"This survey shows it definitely pays to be in a union. Union legal services remain the best and often only source of help when things go wrong. But unions don't want as many cases as they are getting. The cases are a sign that too often there are inadequate health and safety checks. And in too many cases, victims are offered no rehabilitation to get them back to fitness and back to work."

Here at ICL West Gorton, MSF has a team of well-trained Health & Safety reps. Their role includes helping employees with Health & Safety issues, investigating hazards and accidents, and being consulted over Health & Safety matters.

Health & Safety isn't just about avoiding accidents, it's about making a healthy, safe and comfortable working environment. This depends on the involvement of employees.

If you're interested in becoming a Health & Safety rep, please contact our group secretary - Ian Allinson.

Who Are Your Reps and Health & Safety Reps? - 23 February 2001

Following the redundancy of Kathy Lamont, we had a vacancy on the West Gorton reps committee, and asked for volunteers. We have now co-opted [hidden] to join the reps committee.

Details of which areas these Reps are responsible is available here on our site.

The site needs more Health & Safety reps to help improve the working environment. If you're interested, talk to one of us.

Call Centres - 23 February 2001

MAN05 has an increasing number of call-centre workers, and these are bringing a whole new set of issues to the site. MSF membership is rising fast in these areas, and we now have 4 reps too. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is running a campaign to improve working conditions in call centres.

Call centre workers' salaries amount to only 60% of average earnings. They would need to earn £8,000 a year more just to reach average earnings, according to a new TUC report.

It's your call, released on the first day of a new TUC campaign on call centre workers, shows they earn around 40% less than average earnings. Average mid-point salaries for call handlers show that those in Wales are the lowest paid (£11,100) and those in London are the highest paid (£14,050). However, the TUC report also says that although call centres are characterised by low pay, the concentration of centres in areas like Glasgow and South Wales are driving up standards as employers compete with each other to keep staff. And although starting salaries can be as little as £7,500, some call handlers earn more than £20,000.

It's your call also features testimonies from call centre workers who report suffering "acoustic shock" resulting in short term memory loss and an aversion to loud noises; being monitored over the length of time they spend going to the toilet; being listened to on the phone when discussing union business; having pay withheld while serving probationary periods; and being expected to pay for their own headsets.

But some call centres are striving to be models of best practice. The report also features employers who operate ethical policies and use good industrial relations to clinch deals with new clients; offer flexible working patterns such as term-time working; abolish targets such as call handling times; promote training and personal development, and offer free crèche facilities to staff.

It's your call urges employers to negotiate deals with staff offering flexible working arrangements, compensation for working unsocial hours, as well as sensitive monitoring of calls and setting of targets.

John Monks, general secretary of the TUC said:

"As the positive stories in our report show, many call centres don't deserve the sweatshop image they're tainted with. The good call centres we highlight prove the industry can offer good working conditions and still be profitable."

"But there are still too many call centres exploiting their staff. That's why we're running this campaign - to make sure call handlers know their rights and to raise the status of call centres by encouraging shoddy employers to improve their standards."

As part of the It's your call campaign, the TUC have a freephone hotline for call centre workers to report their bad bosses: 0800 032 0033 until Friday 23 February. Lines will be open from 9am until 9pm every day, except Sunday. Call centre workers can also email their stories at www.tuc.org.uk/yourcall.

Use and Misuse of IT - 23 February 2001

A few years ago MSF helped improve ICL's policies on the use and abuse of company email and web access, following a successful claim for unfair dismissal. ICL is now revising these policies, and reps from MSF at West Gorton, as well as ICL's UK and European Consultative Forums (UKCF and ECF) are providing feedback on drafts.

We are unable to circulate the drafts, but if you'd like to comment on them, please contact Ian Allinson.

MSF Web Sites - 23 February 2001

As well as our branch's award-winning web site at: www.itunion.freeserve.co.uk MSF also has national web sites with useful information for ICL members. Both the main MSF web site: www.unitetheunion.org and the site for MSF's IT Professionals Association www.unite-itpa.org have recently been radically redesigned and improved.

Job Losses - Update - 25 January 2001

MSF has had a great success in a grievance over the redundancy payment for one individual, which could have much wider implications. Since changes to the tax rules a few years ago, individuals could be worse off by not actually working their notice:

• Loss of pension contributions and other benefits during the notice period
• The period over which final pensionable pay is calculated being less favourable
• All Pay In Lieu Of Notice (PILON) being paid in the same tax year

Your MSF reps believe that ICL were breaking the contract by refusing to allow an employee to work their notice, and we negotiated an acceptable solution to the individual case while ICL investigates the general policy.

Project Pluto - the job losses in what was A&TC or e-Apps - is continuing. ICL hadn't reached its target of 200 staff moving to the redeployment or redundancy pool, Linkwise, by the end of last year. More people have been identified and briefed in the last week or so.

MSF has been active in pressing ICL to stop making compulsory redundancies without seeking volunteers, as well as in representing individuals.

MSF succeeded in delaying redundancy for one member on the grounds that ICL had failed to inform MSF that they were at risk. Within MAN05, the 90-day "consultation" period only starts when MSF are informed - another benefit of union recognition.

If you're told you're being moved to Linkwise, contact your rep STRAIGHT AWAY. If, for example, you want to challenge your move, your transfer can be put on hold while MSF helps you discuss it with ICL. This is only possible if you act BEFORE the transfer takes place. Acting promptly in this way also gives you more time to find an assignment and avoid transfer that way.

Disciplinary Cases - 25th January 2001

MSF reps have been busy in a large number of disciplinary cases. Unfortunately not all managers and HR are fully conversant with the new law or ICL's Conduct policy, so it is important that all staff are familiar with their basic rights:

• All employees have the right to be represented by their union, irrespective of site, employer, grade etc.
• The representative can play a full part in the hearing.

For more information, take a look at ICL's current Conduct policy, which is now out of date and being re-drafted, or the ACAS Code of Practice covering discipline.

Having a trained representative makes a big difference - please DON'T leave contacting MSF until you've already had a warning - it's much better for you to avoid this in the first place.

Bullying - 25th January 2001

MAN05 MSF reps met with members of Professor Cary Cooper's team of specialists in workplace bullying from UMIST on Monday, to discuss training for MAN05 staff on this important issue.

It's sad to report that we're getting more cases of bullying these days, some of which are extremely serious. Awareness of the issues is the first step in improving the situation, so we are keen that as many people as possible take advantage of the training.

The training will be available in the coming months - watch this space.

For advice on dealing with bullying, contact your rep, or take a look at at our Resources page.

ICL Consultative Forums - 25th January 2001

In addition to your direct representation through MSF, ICL has its "Consultative Forums", of which MSF members make up a large proportion.

The ICL UK Consultative Forum is due to meet on Wednesday 28 February - Thursday 1 March, and the MSF members covering Manchester are Hilary Robinson, Suresh Patel and Ian Allinson. For more information, see the UKCF community on Cafevik.

The ICL European Consultative Forum is due to meet on Tuesday 13 - Wednesday 14 February, and the rep covering Manchester is Ian Allinson. For more information, see the ECF community on Cafevik.

If you have issues you'd like to see discussed, or questions you'd like answered - contact your rep.

Pay 2001 - 2nd January 2001

Following MSF's success at MAN05 last year in pressing ICL to disclose information about pay scales and the distribution of pay awards, we have started discussions with HR about the 2001 pay round.

We expect pay planning guidelines to be produced during January, and that individual pay plans should be completed during February and March. Members are advised to talk to line or career managers who may have input to the process before this time, in order to influence the outcome.

Remember, you CAN see the pay scales for your benchmark (and other directly relevant benchmarks). MSF is pressing for all this information to be published within ICL, as we don't believe secrecy is helpful.

Pensions - 2nd January 2001

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) to ICL's pension fund are impacted by the recent difficulties at Equitable Life. Please see the announcement on CafeVik.

Job Losses - 2nd January 2001

Your reps are continuing to work to protect members from threats to their job security. This ranges from monitoring the operation of the Linkwise redeployment unit, helping members who want to volunteer, to representing members who have been unfairly selected.

Given the small numbers (e.g. approximately 5 at MAN05) being moved to Linkwise from e-Apps in Project Pluto, we can see no reason why these losses could not be managed by a voluntary redundancy scheme. MSF has pressed ICL to actively seek volunteers but the company has refused, preferring to force people out of work even if there are staff who would be willing to volunteer.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact your rep - MSF have successfully helped get volunteers accepted - saving members' jobs.

Bullying At Work - 2nd January 2001

MSF nationally has been at the forefront in trying to publicise the hidden problem of bullying at work. In ICL your reps see a significant number of cases of bullying. Sadly, many of these don't become visible until individuals are off sick with stress, or are leaving the company.

MSF at MAN05 have been involved in representing a group of staff who all said that their manager had been bullying a number of them. They felt that HR and management had failed to investigate it properly, or to take appropriate action. MSF helped to ensure that the allegations were investigated.

This particular case involved a number of reps over a period of many months, and culminated in an on site meeting where ICL were accompanied by a representative of the Engineering Employers Federation, and the staff were represented by Roger Jeary, our Regional Officer.

Though the outcome was not satisfactory in terms of the particular case, it has resulted in significant steps forward in preventing similar cases in the future, including:

• Changes to ICL's procedures covering harassment, bullying and investigations, which should take effect early this year.

• HPS at MAN05 have contacted Cary Cooper, the UMIST Professor of Psychology who is an authority on workplace bullying. His team will be providing training sessions on issues around bullying which will be mandatory for HPS managers, and available to other MAN05 staff on a voluntary basis.

• A significantly increased awareness of bullying as a serious issue in ICL.

For more information on bullying, see our resources page.